D.C. Hotline: NLBMDA releases policy agenda

February 10, 2012

The National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association 2011 National Policy Agenda hasn’t changed a lot since 2011. But there have been some twists.

For instance, the document’s Housing & Economic Policy sections declare an unchanged commitment to “support America’s housing recovery and restore housing as the cornerstone of our national economy.” New bullet points embrace support for the mortgage interest deduction and a belief that “any strategy to jump-start the economy must have a robust small business component that allows entrepreneurs to access capital and credit and retain existing cash flow from operations in order to grow and expand their enterprises.”

Other new principles emphasized this year are support for extending the current capital gains tax rate, reforming debit and credit card interchange swipe fees (representing “billions of dollars in unreasonable costs”), and guaranteeing an employer’s ability to participate in a fair union election.